Nuno Espirito Santo admitted his relationship with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had changed and is “not good” after reports this morning suggested he was set to be sacked.
Nuno, who signed a new contract in June after guiding Forest back into Europe via a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League, was visibly unhappy with the situation when he addressed the media this afternoon and his future at the City Ground now appears uncertain.
Forest go to Crystal Palace on Sunday looking to build on their opening-weekend win over Brentford but the relationship between the club’s Greek owner and Portuguese manager is set to dominate the build up.
What did Nuno say?
Speaking today, Nuno confirmed things were not good behind the scenes.
He said: “I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis.
“This season it is not so well [between us] but I always believe that dialogue is important because my concern is the squad and the season we have ahead of us. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close.
“[Our relationship]…it is not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality.”
Asked why things had changed between the pair, he added: “I don’t know exactly but I’m being honest with you, it is not the same. The reason behind it I do not know. What I said last week or two weeks ago was my concern and why I was worried about where we were going [as a club].”
Nuno questions Forest’s ambition
Marinakis is renown as a combustible character and it could be he was unhappy with Nuno’s comments prior to the Brentford game in which he said the club’s summer transfer business had failed to build on the opportunity of playing in continental competition.
The former Wolves and Tottenham boss said he wasn’t surprised by the reports he was to be dismissed, admitting: “We know each other very well, and we have all been in the industry for a while now.
“And where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so I know how things work, but I’m here to do my job. I understand, because I’m worried. I’m the first one to be worried. I’m the first one to be concerned.”
Forest have spent almost £100million this summer bringing in James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz.
